BEAST denied entry to Japan

By Do Je-hae

Immigration officials banned boy band BEAST from entering Japan Tuesday citing the absence of necessary visas, its agency said Wednesday.

“BEAST was detained at Haneda Airport for eight hours after failing to pass through immigration,” Cube Entertainment said in a press release.

The agency said that the purpose of BEAST’s visit to Japan was to take part in a premiere for a movie that carried the title song of their first Japanese album.

“Universal Japan, the distributor of the album, notified us that they would not need a performance visa. We have no idea why they were denied entry,” the agency said.

Meanwhile, another Korean band Focus also failed to enter Japan Tuesday after being held up at the airport for seven hours.

BEAST stands for “Boys of East Standing Tall.” They released their first mini-album “Beast Is The B2ST” in October 2009.

BEAST started its Japanese venture with the release of a music video for their first Japanese single “Shock” on Feb. 27.

It is only the second Korean group to sing on MTV’s “World Stage,” following the Wonder Girls.

The group performed as Korea’s representative artist on the “MTV World Stage Live in Malaysia 2011” in July.